Mr. Nicholas: A Magical Christmas Tale

Jim was happy to marry Anna after three dates because he thought they had matching levels of ambition and life goals, or maybe he didn’t really think about it much at all. Choosing to settle down in the small town of Pompton Plains, NJ, the couple are still struggling to connect after three years together when their son John Brian is born. JB has Down syndrome and quickly becomes his mother’s everything and his father’s nothing. Now JB is 10 and Anna is feeling done with Jim, but Mr. Nicholas, the mysteriously magical hardware store owner, has a few surprises to share with this family. There are lessons to be learned from Jim’s attitude toward his family and his life, but the story doesn’t feel instructive or judgmental. Mr. Nicholas is only briefly on the page, but de Vinck (Ashes) selects the right elements to create understanding of his impact and leave enough to the imagination for the child in all of us.